Yes, it really is a dry heat. There is just a lot of heat.

Greetings and Salutations! How you be?

Just over 2 weeks ago we were enjoying high 80 degree weather and then last week the "Blast-furnace" summer heat arrived. It had been rather nice (and a little unusual) to have the less than 100 degree (37.7778 C) weather for as long as we did. {sigh}

So, about the "It's a dry heat" joke about the Arizona heat. Not so much of a joke.
There realllllly is a difference between 100 degree heat with almost no humidity and 100 degree heat with 80% humidity.
In Arizona when it says "80% humidity", it means it will rain - probably a lot.
In say, Texas, when it's 100 degree heat and 80% humidity, it means I wouldn't be able to breathe. It would feel like trying to breathe underwater to me. {Been there, gasped that.}

The pros of Blast-Furnace heat?

• The first load of laundry hung out on the line is dry before the second load is done in the washer. 
• Solar cooking is totally feasible (and yummy). 
• The heat encourages indoor activities (such as weaving, knitting, and catching up on Netflix).
  {Hmmm - Blast-furnace heat is a bit similar to being "snowed in" during the winter (with smaller {cooler} knitting projects and less baking and holiday decorations).}
• Solar energy is also totally feasible {still pending for the DH and I but when I was a kid, my Dad setup a solar water-heating system for our house that worked great}.
• The Blast-Furnace heat makes our 82 degree house (82 is our "away" thermostat setting) seem downright cool!
• The "siesta" concept becomes very appealing. 
• Parking spaces are more valuable based on the amount of shade the space offers. Parking closer to work/school/store is less of a consideration than if your car will be less than180 degrees when you return.

The cons....well, the cons are pretty obvious. Heat stroke, sun burn, dehydration, etc. 

Um, yeah. Common sense goes a long way when dealing with the obvious. 

We do tend to be a bit light on earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and Mississippi-style flooding. But we do excel at blast-furnace heat. No where is entirely perfect. 

So why am I talking about the weather? 

Well, it is pretty darn hot here. 

And...how else do you start a conversation up with folks that you haven't spoken to in a long time? 

Yep, the weather is generally a safe topic. 

So, I'll end with this: I've thought of you often and I kept meaning to write, but I kept putting it off until after the next school deadline. And then there's always another school deadline. Even now, over the summer, I have things I'd like to finish from the last semester (and the one before that) as well as prep-study I'd like to do for the coming semester. 

But today, I thought I'd pop in to say "Hi!" and I thought I could break the ice with some comments about our Blast-Furnace heat. {wry grin}

Talk to you soon. KiniaCat

 

A Smattering - Fibre, Irons, Knitting, Puppies, and Events

Upcoming Calendar items:

• The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show - um, well, this gets a bit fuzzy. There's the Gem and Mineral Society show, a variety of pre-shows and other gems shows, and (my fav) the Tucson Bead Show. Thusly, dates range from Jan 28th thru Feb 16th. {I think}
• !!Kniteratti!! Galina Khmeleva of Skaska Designs {and Orenburg Lace Knitting Guru} will be teaching in Tucson - March 13 & 14 in a 2-day workshop for the Tucson Handweaver's and Spinner's Guild and at Kiwi Knitting on March 15 & 16th.  I suggest folks register sooner over later to ensure a spot in the workshop/classes!
• The Tucson Festival of Books - March 15 - 16, 2014
• The 4th Avenue Street Fair - March 21 - 23, 2014

I'm sure there's a bunch more up-n-coming events - leave a comment to clue me in!

*~*
A friend brought to my attention that House Bill 2379 could cut the funding for our amazing Pima County Public Library. Please consider contacting your AZ Legislator soonest.

• Pima County Public Library news on House Bill 2379
• Straw Castle's "I Oppose Arizona House Bill 2379"
• Loving Our Libraries: Stop HB 2379

*~*
Juniper Moon Farm {nifty blog, yarn, etc} directed me to this charming blog post about a Golden Retriever caring for a Kitten
{Yep, Kleenex alert!}.
And, newly smitten with Reshareworthy, I am tickled with this Budweiser/Clydesdale/Puppy commercial. {Still got the Kleenex?}

*~*
When I went to last month's Tucson Handweaver's and Spinner's Guild Knitting Study Group meeting at the University of Arizona Agricultural Center - I found parking was at a premium and there were a wide variety of fibre-related critters already on site:
{I believe a 4-H gathering was sharing our meeting-time.}

 

 

*~*
I recently got to go to the White Mountains with a few friends to stay with another friend - where I met New Friends! {wry grin}

At a stop along the way, I saw a woman with spiffy boots of Harper Blue. {Geek-ful moment: Dragonriders of Pern, Dragonsinger reference}

One new Friend was deemed a "Keeper" and she shared this link with me: A Young Man's History of Doctor Who in 11 Photographs.

Sunrise over Show Low:

 

But the moon was still up:

Several of the New Friends were sewing these on multiple embroidery machines to create these stunning, detailed Christmas Tree panels:
(As always, please click on the photos to enlarge.)

And I finished these projects whilst traveling/retreating in the White Mountains:

 

Squishy Cowl {in seriously YUMMY-soft Alpaca} and Knotty but Nice Hat.

 

Comfort of a Friend Woman's Shawl
{pending buttons so not entirely complete}

The view as I left the weekend retreat - the IronWood Tree:
{A lotta irons have been burned out at Bear Cabin Quilting Retreats.}

I hope life is treating you well!

What a difference a year makes!

Hola, Folks.
Crimony! It's been over a month since I last posted a blog. Sorry about that.
When I consider that I posted a blog nearly every day in November and December of 2012 and then I look at the paltry number of posts for this holiday season…
{sigh} Ah well.

However, when I consider that since last November/December I have been actively pursuing a Fiber Arts degree, that I have met a wide range of radically interesting and inspiring people in the last 10 months, and that my creative interests have bloomed dramatically in 2013…

What a difference a year makes. {Happy Sigh}
But I do miss writing on the blog and seeing from whence visitors come and if comments are left. As I'm sure you've guessed, I have been spending a great deal of time in the Ceramics and Weaving labs. And I am generally very pleased (and surprised) with the results of my time. The semester is nearly over and my Ceramics and Weaving projects are done/turned in/pending grading. I still have some more work to do for the Clothing Construction class so I'm not done yet.

But a little bit of down time before the next semester is up-n-coming and my to-do lists are being jotted/revised and "Blog" appears often on those lists. A fair amount of knitting and UFO pursuits are plotted as well.

Until the next blog "to-do" is fulfilled, here are a couple of quick pictures from the school adventures of the last few weeks.

Two "nose-level" views of my final project from my Weaving I class:

The collection of pots that came from the 2nd Glaze firing in Ceramics I:
{Yes, I like throwing pots on a potter's wheel!}

And…here's 3 more pictures.
These are the photos I entered in the 11th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest.
I know - it's ok. I don't actually expect to win.
{grin} I've seen the winning pictures from the 2012 contest.

However, I'm glad I did it. It's something I've never done before and I like the idea of trying even though I'm well aware of how remote the possibility of winning is. I'm mostly hoping that one of my pictures might be deemed interesting enough to be posted on the Smithsonian's Photo of the Day.
The finalists will be announced in March 2014 and the winners and Reader's Choice Winners will be announced in Spring 2014.

You've seen this picture before. I included it in the September 28th "More Landscape - this time in ink. Plus Photos from an Inky Dark Night" blog post. I took the picture a little after midnight with a flashlight held between my knees (so the camera could "see" to focus) and whilst dodging a large sphinx moth. {grin}

I tweeted out this picture in October after pausing in the breezy pre-sunset afternoon to take the picture at the Pima College West campus. This was taken with my aging iTouch - and the Smithsonian has a new category this year for photos taken with phones-n-such. 

Hmmm - I'm not sure how well this will come through on the blog (or to the folks at the Smithsonian).

This is a 360 degree picture taken with my iTouch and the Occipital 360Panorama app as I stood in the back of my little pickup truck and viewed alllll of the sunset-drenched Tucson valley and sky. It was spectacular and the photo doesn't quite do it justice.

You can also view this photo on the Occipital Website as a larger "flat image or in the original 360 degrees (use your mouse to click-drag-shift the image left/right). 

I plan to post again soon. Hope your holidays are going well!

More Landscape - this time in Ink. Plus Photos from an Inky Dark Night

Continuing the belated Spring 2013 Fiber Arts Degree posts:

After the intro to Landscape drawing, we embarked on a larger landscape project.
Outside. In early April.
It was still pretty nice outside and a lovely way to spend our morning class time.

The instructor walked us over to the Library complex and asked us to draw a part of that building - particularly the windows - including the reflections and whatever we could see inside. He also introduced us to drawing leaves in sunshine and shade.

After our sketch was setup, we were to consider the levels of shade involved and we were to paint our drawing with Indian Ink.

Did you notice the per-drop ink gradation test I did on
the right side of the watercolor paper?

I worked on this in my Cat-Free "Studio" - our backyard porch.
(You are correct. There was NO Way I was going to have glasses of watery Indian Ink available to the cats for sniffing, pawing, splashing, paw-printing....{shudder}.)

Obviously, my grasp of sun and shadow and, well, drawing in general still has quite a ways to go.
However, I decided playing with watered down Indian Ink required a fair amount of patience, was very meticulous, and rather fun. If it weren't for the due date, I could have worked on that landscape for a  month.

But I didn't have a month so this is what was turned in:

In a more current timeline, last month I realized one of our Night Blooming Cereus plants had blooms on the cusp of opening:

 

 

I stayed up late and went to look at the open blossoms...but...they weren't quite open yet.

Days later I was up late again and went to go look at the Night Blooming Cereus and it was blooming. At the time, I didn't connect my collecting a flashlight and the camera with the pictures I'd seen on the Touch the Wind blog in July, but his lovely nighttime bloom photos most likely did make an impression on my brain and inspire some of my photographs.

I took over 50 pictures - generally holding the flashlight between my knees and, at one point, fending off a large Sphinx Moth that may have felt I had loitered over his flowers for too long. {wry grin}
Here's a few of the keepers:

Did you notice the other insect in this photo shoot?
{Bottom, just off center - on the petal...}

Drying feathers and a Loud Chirp!

When it became unavoidable, I took to working on the last drawing project on our back porch. This project is on 4 foot by 6 foot paper so it's a bit more challenging (and aerodynamic) to work upon outside.

Thursday afternoon, I'd given up, cleared the dining room table, and moved the drawing project inside to attach/stitch on paper - painted and plaited to represent my family tartan (Royal Stewart) knowing that the cats would be delighted and HELPFUL. {sigh}

Just after I moved inside, Mikale, loitering at the back door, brought to our attention that two youngling birds had fallen (blown) into our ancient swimming pool. It was too late for us to help one of them, but the one I scooped out by hand was still alive.

His eyes were closed and he was shivering. Maybe gasping. I wondered if birds could cough.
There was water on his nostrils and his breathing didn't sound good. I was belatedly concerned about my putting my scent on the young sparrow and wondering if his parents would take him back. However, my spending the day playing with paint, water and washing my hands only when I paused to hang clothes on the laundry line might be useful in minimizing my scent.

I wanted to keep him warm so I tried to shield him from the wind as we sat in the sun at the West end of the porch.
I blew gently on his nostrils...kinda crazy, I know.
I also tried to help him dry off, using an old sheet that had been in the back yard for the Winter months shielding pipes from freezing and pending a launder before summer storage.
I hoped it would smell very little like "human" and it did seem to draw off some of the pool water.

Eventually his shivering slowed down, although his eyes were still closed. His back dried and his wings were beginning to dry when I noticed a good-sized lizard crossing the rocks about 6 inches from my feet. The bold lizard made me realize we'd been sitting there for a while.

I still had paint on my fingers -
my thumb-nail was turquoise. 

The sparrow opened his eyes soon after and I sat very still. He wasn't quite sure about me but his breathing seemed better. He looked around a bit, relieved himself in the palm of my hand {wry grin}, and then he surprised me with a loud chirp!

His parents quickly replied and they landed nearby on the jasmine (I could only see movement in my peripheral sight - I was still trying not to move/startle anyone).

I watched him stretch his wings, chirp more with his parents, and he finally took wing from my hand and flew to the top of our wall where a parental-sparrow joined him!

Yes, of course I cried. I couldn't help myself and I wouldn't care to stop such a response.
It also put my grumbling discontent about my drawing project into perspective.  ;-)

I know it's a bit of a long-shot, but I hope he doesn't have any residual effects from his near-drowning aside from enough sense to avoid swimming pools in the future.

The Snow is gone, but there are pictures!

Yeah, OK. I can practically hear the "snort" of derision by folks that live with snow every year (for months).
And I get it - and I agree.
It's not like it's been really cold here in Tucson.
(I lived in Illinois for a while as a youngling - I know cold.
Tucson ain't cold.)
A look at ONE of the photos from the Boston Globe's "The Big Picture" post on "Snowstorm Dumps on Northeast" is more than a reality check on true Winter Weather.

But - CRIMONY - it snowed for HOURS! In Tucson!!
Huge flakes/clusters and it actually STUCK to the ground and the trees and the cars and...the roads.
That is a bizarre happenstance for Tucson.

Several times in the last month, I have pseudo-bewailed that I hadn't ever driven in snow.
Well, I got my chance Wednesday.
I drove over bridges (no discernible ice) and on a well-travelled main road on the way to Sahuarita that accumulated slush and the snow was heavy enough to cover the tracks in the "fast" lane pretty quickly.
I have to say, we snow-clueless Tucsonan drivers were astoundingly well-behaved and actually driving under the speed limit in the foreign white-stuff.
(Sadly, that sensible-driving was offset the next morning by some significant wrecks...{sigh})

In the early evening, I made a couple of attempts to take some pictures of that rarely-seen-in-Tucson form of crystallized humidity: Snow.

 



When I got safely home later that night {the roads were much more interesting and slushy on the way home}, I went out to attempt some pictures of the white-stuff still sticking to the cactus in my back yard. {Click on the pics to em-biggin.}

Slushy Ice hanging from my clothes line.

Rocks underneath the clothes line and
the now-barren Mexican Bird of Paradise.

Snow-encrusted (down to the thorns) Barrel Cactus
(there are 2 new cacti growing from the right side).

Teddy Bear Cholla (purple prickly pear
cactus in the back)

Close up on the icy Teddy Bear Cholla

Night Blooming Cereus and Bougainvillea

The Moon was out by then.

Thursday AM, I was visiting a friend who asked me to take some pictures from her yard (her camera was not behaving just then):

   

Ah - and here's a picture of the Tucson Mountains in Snow:

Later I couldn't resist snapping pictures of our stunning Santa Catalina Mountains from afar - at my allergist's office (please pardon the overhead light reflection).

I LOVE the shading and definition the snow lent to our lovely Northern Mountain range. Normally, I have to admire the depth and ridges offered by sunrise/sunset or cloud-cover, but the snow showed off a new perspective of my favorite mountains.

The snow is mostly gone now. Certainly from around town and only the taller Mountains circling our city have white near the top.
The excitement from this snowfall felt like the first real snow of the season when I lived back east. Magical and surprising - a little exciting and, obviously, a bit nostalgic for me.

The snow they're dealing with back east now {along with flooding - wow} is mind boggling.
I don't envy them, as they won't envy us in July when our "dry" heat is regularly above 110, but I did enjoy our taste of "Winter" and my first experience driving in snow.